


Seven Days in the Sun

by zorac



Series: Echo Park - an anthology [9]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Rock Band, Disney World & Disneyland, F/F, Karaoke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-11-23 11:21:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11401470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zorac/pseuds/zorac
Summary: Butterfly Blues are the hot new rock duo, but can Chloe put aside unrequited feelings for her bandmate when she reconnects with an estranged childhood friend?





	1. I’ve Got a Friend

The call came out of the blue. It wasn’t a number my phone recognized, so I answered cautiously, expecting a telemarketer; at least it was unlikely to be one of the political robocalls that had plagued me the previous year. “Hello?”

“Ahoy there, First Mate Max!”

My brain short-circuited for a moment. I knew who it had to be, there couldn’t be anyone else who would call me that. The voice was familiar too; it might be the better part of a decade since the two of us last spoke, but whenever I listened to her singing, or giving an interview, I could always hear echoes of her younger self. “Chloe?” I managed eventually.

“That’s Cap’n Chloe to you!” Finally, my brain kicked back into gear. I must have rehearsed for that conversation a thousand times over the last decade, so my mouth just went into autopilot.

“I am _so sorry_ for abandoning you all those years ago. I should have fought harder to stay with you when you needed me, instead of being excited about life in the big city. And I should have kept in contact, but I felt so guilty, like I didn’t deserve to be your friend any more. By the time I got over that, it just felt like I’d left it too long, and then… You’re a fucking rock star, Chloe. Why would you want to hear from some girl you used to know when we were kids?” My words hung in the air for a few long moments before she responded.

“You done?” There was a softness in her voice that calmed my jangling nerves.

“Um. Yeah.”

“I’m sorry too. I didn’t try and stay in touch, either. I was so mad at you; it took me a long time to get past that. By the time I finally accepted that you had no choice in leaving, I was really tight with Rachel, and… it felt like I’d be saying that she wasn’t enough. And then, well, things have been hella busy the last few years. A fine mess we’ve made, but I would _never_ not want to hear from you.”

“So… why now?” My heart was still racing, but I was starting to feel hopeful.

“Why now? I guess you’ve been on my mind a lot lately; I miss the friend I lost all those years ago. I’d like to spend some time with you, see if we can get back what we gave up. Do you think you can get away from Seattle for a week?”

A smile began to spread across my face. “One of the few benefits of being a starving artist is that you get to make your own hours. I may not quite be starving, but you get the idea. What did you have in mind?”

“Next week is actually the first full one I’ll have had off in almost a year. I was remembering how Cap’n Chloe and Matey Max always wanted to ride the _Pirates of the Caribbean_ , and I had a cunning plan. What do you say to seven days in the sun?”

“It sounds awesome,” I admitted cautiously, “but there’s no way I can afford it.”

“So what?” sang Chloe, “I’m still a rock star! I got my rock… bucks! And I… give no fucks!”

I laughed. “You really don’t have right hair color to pull off that song.”

“Seriously, I got this. Please, don’t make this weird…er.”

I considered it for a moment. Stubborn pride had made me resist taking handouts from my parents when my career hadn’t taken off the way I hoped, but I knew that I’d never forgive myself if I let it stop me from taking this chance. “Okay, let’s do it!”

“All right! You good to fly out early Saturday morning?”

“Sure thing!” I was starting to get _really_ excited.

“Cool. I’ll text you your flight details, and I’ll see you in Orlando.”

“Thanks, Chloe, for getting us talking again.”

“No problemo. I’m just sorry it took so long. Oh, and I’ll be traveling incognito, so you may not recognize me at first.”

I looked up at all the ‘Butterfly Blues’ posters that covered every inch of my tiny apartment’s walls. “I guess your usual look is kinda distinctive.”

“Yeah, I thought I’d try being a brunette for a week; it always worked for you. Anyway, I gotta dash, see you in a few days.”

“Okay, bye!”

_Wowsers_ , I thought as I fell backwards onto the bed. At least I’d managed not to say it out loud; Chloe would never have let me forget it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs referenced in this chapter (other than the title track by Feeder): Chloe sings a bit of _So What?_ by Pink.


	2. We Took a Holiday

I was ruined for air travel, I decided as I headed out into arrivals at Orlando International. Chloe had sprung for a first class ticket, and the experience was a far cry from the few cattle class trips I’d taken previously. I looked around, uncertain, then spotted a sign reading ‘Max Caulfield’. It took me a few seconds to realize that the pretty girl in a flouncy dress was my childhood friend.

“You clean up nice,” I said, admiringly. Chloe simply grinned and pulled me into a big hug. Suddenly, for the first time in forever, everything seemed right with the world.

“You have no idea how awesome it is to see you again,” she whispered into my ear.

“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea,” I replied, clinging to her with something approaching desperation. “I’ve missed you so much.” I may have actually teared up a little bit.

“Hey! None of that, Mad Max! The past is in the past, yadda yadda yadda. We’re here to make up for lost time and have hella fun!” She lowered her arms and, reluctantly, I released her.

“Aye, aye, Cap’n!”

Chloe led me out to the parking garage and over to her car. It was a sporty convertible in electric blue. “Subtle,” I remarked as I dumped my case on a back seat that was surely far too small for an actual human being to use.

“It’s a rental; I didn’t get to pick the color.” She paused for a moment before continuing over-dramatically, “fate chose it for me.” She managed to keep a straight face for a good two or three seconds before we both laughed and some of the tension drained away. “C’mon, lets go. We can get checked in then head over to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.”

“Where are we staying? And just how late is the park open?”

“Port Orleans. I hear they have fantastic beignets.” Off my quirked eyebrow she continued, “hey, if we’re going to do this, might as well get in the spirit of things. It’s off season, so the Kingdom’s probably only open until ten or so, but that should still give us a few hours.” She put the car into drive, and we were on our way.

* * *

A couple of hours later, we were standing at the front of the ferryboat, crossing the Seven Seas Lagoon to the Magic Kingdom. We’d stopped off at the hotel to pick up our ‘Magic Bands’ and drop off our luggage, then headed straight to the park. When the boat docked, I practically bounced off it and up towards the entrance, Chloe’s hand held tightly in mine. I felt like I was thirteen again, ready to run around Arcadia Bay with my partner in piracy. She grinned at me as I dragged her along, and I suspected that she might be feeling the same way.

“Where to first?” asked Chloe once we were through the turnstiles. “Pirates?”

“Pirates,” I agreed. Then we came out of the tunnel; I looked up Main Street to the Cinderella castle, and suddenly I turned into a little girl. “Whoa!” My hand found Chloe’s again, and I turned to her. “I just want to say this now, in case I forget afterwards: this was the best week of my life.”

“If I’d known you were so desperate to spend time with Mickey Mouse, I’d have organized this sooner!”

I bumped my shoulder against hers. “Not Mickey; you, silly.” I paused for a moment. “Although if you could introduce me to some of those princesses…”

“So…” she said with a laugh, “not straight, but not a furry.” I raised an eyebrow at her. “Hey, just trying to figure you out. We were a bit young to talk about this shit last time we saw each other.”

“Well, ‘not straight’ is about as far as _I’ve_ figured it out, to be honest with you.” I hesitated, then continued in a thoughtful voice, “although I’ve never actually given any consideration to furries…”

Chloe grinned. “Don’t knock it ’till you’ve tried it.”

“Wait… you _have_?”

“Yup. One of my girlfriends turned out to be really into it, had a fursuit and everything. I’ll try anything once, so I decided to go for it – turned out to be fun, but it didn’t, yanno, _do_ it for me in the way it did for her.” She shrugged. “Different strokes for different folks, I guess.”

“So is that why it ended?”

“Nah, it was nothing to do with that.” Her face darkened. “I broke up with her when I figured out that she wanted Chloe the Rock Star, and wasn’t really interested in getting to know Chloe the person,” she said bitterly. From her tone, I got the feeling that this was something that had happened to her more than just that one time.

“I’m sorry. Groupies not all they’re cracked up to be?”

“They’re great when all I want is to get laid,” she said frankly, “not so much if I’m looking for something more serious. Still,” she continued ruefully, “you could say the same about me.”

I got the feeling that this wasn’t really a topic she wanted to get into any further. Seeing as I had no interest in discussing _my_ love life – or lack thereof – I decided to close the subject. “You know what, let’s not talk about this any more. If this holiday is going to be about regressing to our younger selves, maybe we should keep the conversation age-appropriate.”

Chloe looked at me, and there was gratitude and relief in her expression. “Sounds like a plan.” She gestured across the square we’d just entered, and I saw the entrance to the ride. “Ready to get your pirate on, Matey Max?”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n Chloe! I’ve been looking forward to this for, like, forever.”

“Me too,” she replied, and I could tell that she was as excited as me.

“You’ve never ridden it before?” I asked, in genuine surprise.

“Nope. This is the first time I’ve come to Florida for anything other than a gig.”

“Yeah, but I’ve seen paparazzi shots of you at Disneyland in LA.”

“True, but I never rode _Pirates_.” She hesitated. “It just wouldn’t have been right to do it without you.” That simple confession gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. Unable to find any words to express the rush of emotions, I simply pulled Chloe into a tight hug. She squeezed me back for a few moments, then we headed into the queue.

The wait was so short that we ended up going round three times, spotting fresh details on each trip and picking up most of the words to _A Pirate’s Life For Me_. After that, Chloe dragged me away laughing; apparently we had dinner reservations. “So, where are we going?” I asked.

“Well, thanks to my Rock Star credentials, I’ve managed to secure a spot at the hardest to get into restaurant in the world!”

I cocked an eyebrow at her. “Meaning ‘planet Earth’ or ‘Walt Disney World’?”

Chloe’s eyes narrowed. “The latter, smart-ass. And I’m beginning to rethink my choice of dining companion…”

“A thousand apologies, O great and powerful Chloe. Please forgive me and tell me where we’re going to eat.”

“Well…” she paused, put on a ridiculously fake French accent, and began to sing. “ _Be… our… guest, be our guest, put our service to ze test…_ ”

I punched her weakly in the arm. “No, seriously, where are we going?”

“That’s what it’s called, honest.” She made a show of rubbing her ‘bruised’ arm. “Come on, we don’t want them to give our table away…”

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, Chloe was still softly snoring in her bed. I grabbed a quick shower, got dressed, then headed over to the hotel’s food court. Remembering something Chloe had said the previous day, I grabbed a box of beignets to go with our morning coffees. When I got back to our room, I could hear Chloe in the shower. A couple of minutes later she came out, wrapped in a towel that barely covered her. I had a hard time not staring.

“The Bat-Max has returned!” She grabbed the coffee I’d brought her and took a long drink. “Seriously, you’re my hero.” Then she noticed the beignets, and wolfed down two before deeming herself ready for further conversation. “Thanks for grabbing these.” She hesitated for a moment. “I may have had a slight freak out when I woke up and found you gone.”

“I’m sorry…” I began.

She waved off the apology. “We said last night that whoever was up first should do a coffee run. I was fine once my brain kicked into gear. Besides,” she said, saluting me with her cup, “caffeine cures all ills.”

“I could have woken you to let you know where I was going.”

She snorted. “I would _not_ have thanked you for that. Trust me, you did the right thing.” She drained her cup, then picked out some clothes and headed into the bathroom. When she returned, she grabbed the car keys and headed straight for the door. “So, ready to walk with animals?”

“Talk with the animals?”

“Grunt…”

“…and squeak…”

“…and squawk with the animals?”

I made a show of considering this. “Yup,” I said firmly, and then we both burst into laughter. Our easy back-and-forth brought home to me just how much I’d missed Chloe during our long years apart. I’d never felt half as comfortable with any of the – admittedly few – friends I’d made since. Determined to enjoy our time together, I fought back my fears of what might happen once this week was over.

After heading straight to the headliner ‘Expedition Everest’ coaster, we spent the rest of the morning exploring the Animal Kingdom, enjoying seeing its denizens – if not in their natural habitats, then at least a rather better approximation thereof than at the couple of zoos I’d visited. At one point we were accosted by a safari suit-wearing Donald Duck, who was doing his character photos in such an out-of-the-way spot that no-one else had actually found him. We graciously deigned to strike silly poses with him while the other cast members rounded up more guests.

We had a delicious late lunch at the ‘Yak and Yeti’ – somewhere I’d insisted on eating at based solely on the awesome name. After that, we decided that it was high time to take in a couple of shows – basically, anything that avoided vigorous movement. Once we were sufficiently recovered, we braved the river rapids, and finally a dinosaur ride. The latter mostly consisted of Chloe hiding her face in my shoulder whilst I laughed hysterically.

That set the pattern for the next few days. We’d get up early, have a quick breakfast, and head out to one of the theme parks. By Thursday, we’d exhausted our options – and ourselves – so we instead headed for a relaxing day in one of the water parks. Time spent sunbathing on loungers and floating around the lazy river was just what we needed – with the occasional water-slide to keep things from getting too dull.

There was also the added benefit of getting to see Chloe in her bikini. The difficulty I was having keeping my eyes off her only confirmed that my long-standing celebrity crush on her was developing into something much more serious. I caught her checking me out a few times too, which gave me hope. What I didn’t know was whether our newly rekindled friendship was becoming something deeper for her in the way that it had for me.

Revitalized by our rest day, we finally ventured out of the world of Disney, and up the road to Universal for a couple of days of thrill rides and, of course, Hogwarts. Potter-mania had not passed Arcadia Bay by, and like seemingly every kid in our generation, Chloe and I were fans. Friday was somewhat rained out, but this had an unexpected benefit: the biggest queue we encountered all day was in Starbucks, meaning we got to go on pretty much all the rides we wanted with no waits. Having learned her lesson earlier in the week, Chloe left me to brave the _Jurassic Park_ one by myself.

Thankfully, Saturday dawned bright and clear, allowing us to explore Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley at our leisure – a distinct improvement, even if the previous day’s weather had perhaps been more authentically British. After stocking up with an obscene amount of ‘wizarding’ candy, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom for a final ride on _Pirates_. This time we stopped to have a quick look through the gift shop on the way.

“Awww! Look at this cute bunny pirate.” I held up the book I’d been leafing through, and Chloe reluctantly came over to look.

“Hmm… that art looks familiar somehow.” She took the book from me, and flipped to the front cover. “Oh my god, Kate?”

“Huh?”

“The artist, Kate Marsh, she was at Blackwell the same time as me and Rachel.”

“You knew her?”

“Not very well. She was a shy, very religious girl, so we didn’t exactly move in the same circles. She did come to some of the Vortex Club parties, though, which was kinda odd as those guys were usually pretty mean to her. She’d have a sip or two of wine, then mostly just sit in a corner. I do remember persuading her to dance with me a few times, trying to get her to loosen up. I’m glad she’s made something of herself; she’s probably the nicest person I’ve ever met.”

We bought copies of Kate’s book for ourselves and Rachel, plus some silly pirate hats which we immediately put on. After that, we wound down our week by simply wandering around the park hand-in-hand, soaking in the atmosphere and each other’s company.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs referenced in this chapter: A couple of tracks from _Frozen_ at the airport. In the Magic Kingdom Chloe sings part of _Be Our Guest_ from _Beauty and the Beast_. Before going to the animal Kingdom, they use an excerpt from _Talk to the Animals_ sung by Rex Harrison in _Doctor Dolittle_.


	3. Sang Back Cover Tunes

For our last night in Florida, Chloe took me to a Japanese place that had been recommended to her by ‘a friend.’ I’d decided earlier in the week that this phrase was probably code for ‘somebody famous, but I don’t want to name drop.’ It turned out she’d become a big fan of sushi, which was somewhat unexpected; the girl I remembered would have turned up her nose at anything too fancy for the Two Whales to serve. I wasn’t quite so keen on raw fish, and opted for a simple bento box instead.

The restaurant also did karaoke, because of course that would tickle Chloe, so after food and a few cups of sake she turned to me. “I dare you to get up there and sing a song.”

“What? No! You’re the professional singer here!”

“Oh yeah? I double dare you!” she said with a smirk.

“Fine.” I grabbed the iPad that served as both food menu and karaoke song list and searched for inspiration. Then I remembered the musical episode of _Buffy_ where the scoobies all burst into song and end up revealing their true feelings. I started looking for soppy love ballads, then something caught my eye. It was hella cheesy, but it fit our situation a little too neatly to pass up. I cued up a request, then wiped the screen so Chloe couldn’t see what I’d picked.

“So, what are you singing?”

“Wait and see,” I taunted her. The place wasn’t exactly busy, so it turned out I didn’t have long to wait for my turn. I nervously mounted the tiny stage; thankfully most people were busy eating, and the only person really watching me was Chloe. The music began, and when the words lit up I started to sing. “ _He was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious?_ ”

Chloe gave me a look that clearly asked _why the hell did you pick this?_ I just quirked an eyebrow back, as if to say _wait and see!_ When I got to the second verse and sang “ _She turns on TV, and guess who she sees? Skater boy rocking a soul train._ ” I saw her mouth go into a big _Oh…_ I returned her smirk from earlier. _Yup, nailed it!_

I think I managed to get through the whole song without totally embarrassing myself. At least, there wasn’t any heckling as I slunk back to our table. “Not bad,” said Chloe, “although I wouldn’t have pegged you as an Avril Lavigne fan.”

“So much no. Postmodern Jukebox did a cover of that song a couple of years back.” Off Chloe’s quizzical look, I explained “they do vintage covers of modern songs with a whole roster of guest vocalists. Pretty awesome stuff – they managed to make _My Heart Will Go On_ into a decent song, if you can believe that. They’ve even covered a couple of your tracks; you should check them out.”

“I’ll be sure to do that.”

“Anyway, your turn now, Miss Professional Singer.”

“Fair enough. You said you hadn’t listened to our latest album yet, right?”

I nodded. “I wanted to wait until your tour and hear stuff for the first time live. Why do you ask? I’m pretty sure that singing your own song at karaoke is cheating. Plus I thought you were supposed to be incognito; won’t that be a bit of a giveaway?”

“First, how can you cheat if the game doesn’t have any rules? And second, it’s our last night, so I’m not too worried if I get recognized now.” Rather than picking the track, she headed straight to the stage, and grabbed an acoustic guitar off a stand there. She started to play a beautiful song about friendship and loss and, I quickly realized, about me. There was no mistaking the emotion in her voice, and the whole room went silent. When she finished, it was by far the loudest round of applause of the night.

“You wrote a song about me.” I said in small voice when she got back to our table.

“Yeah. I was hoping that you’d hear it and realize I wanted to get back in touch. I guess I ended up being a little impatient.”

“I’m glad you did,” I said, reaching out to take her hand.

Eventually she pulled away. “We should totally do a duet before we leave. Go out in a blaze of glory!”

I eyed her reluctantly. “I’m not sure we want to inflict my voice on these poor, innocent people again.”

“Hey, none of that. You might not be a pro, but you were better than most of the people who’ve been up there tonight. Besides, I’m sure I can find something where I do most of the work.” She studied the iPad for a few seconds, then showed me what she’d picked. “How about this? You only get one short solo bit.”

“Why do you get to be the hot one?”

“Because I am the hot one.”

“Fair point.”

“Hey! You weren’t supposed to agree with me. You’re pretty damn hot too, you know.”

“Flattery will not get me to sing again.”

She made puppy-dog eyes at me, and I was powerless to resist. A few minutes later, we were both back up on the stage. I glanced at Chloe and saw that she looked as nervous as I felt. “You good to go?” I asked. She nodded, started to play the guitar, and then began to sing.

When she reached the second line, “ _and all I’ve seen since seven days ago is blue eyes, and freckles, and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like…_ ” I realized that she’d changed some of the words to fit me… us, that she wasn’t just singing the song _with_ me, she was singing it _to_ me.

I joined in with the chorus, then made a quick change to my own line. “ _And all my walls are posters of the Blues, and I’ll take ’em down, take ’em down and open up the door for you._ ”

I could tell from her smile that she’d picked up on my tweak, which tied into her line, “ _and all I feel in my stomach is butterflies…_ ”

We spent the rest of the song gazing into each other’s eyes. “ _I’m feeling like I’ve missed you all this time_ ” was the line that started the tears, but somehow we managed to keep it together until the end.

The moment we were finished, I pulled Chloe into a fierce hug. “I love you,” I whispered in her ear.

“I know,” she whispered back. Then, before I had chance to pull back and give her the death glare that Leia should have used on Han, “I love you too.”

I was dimly aware of cheering and looked round to see we had something of a standing ovation. I also noticed that it seemed at least a couple of people had been filming our performance with their phones. “We should probably go,” I told Chloe. She gave the crowd a cheeky wave, then we walked back to our table to collect our things. Chloe dropped a couple of hundreds to cover the check, and we headed out into the night.

* * *

Back at our hotel, the door was barely closed behind us when Chloe pulled me into a fierce kiss. Caught off guard, I hesitated for a moment and she immediately pulled back. “Sorry,” she began, but I stopped her with a finger to her lips.

“Don’t be. It was unexpected, not unwanted.” I looked her straight in the eyes. “It’s hella wanted,” I said, then kissed her back. It was a long time before we finally separated. “Wowsers,” I whispered, my brain too addled to stop me.

Naturally, this cracked Chloe up. “Wowsers?” she said when she finally got her breath back. “What are you, like, twelve?”

“No! It’s just… I’ve never been kissed like that before.”

“Wait, seriously? How old are you now?”

“I never found the right person,” I said defensively. “I mean, it’s not like I haven’t been on dates, and some of those dates involved kissing, but it never felt like that just did.”

“So what is it that those guys… girls didn’t have?”

“I dunno,” I said, unconvincingly.

“I think you do,” Chloe replied softly.

“I… they…”

“You can tell me.”

“They weren’t you, alright!” I almost shouted. “None of them was you!” There were tears in my eyes as she pulled me into a gentle hug. After a moment, I continued, “For a long time I wasn’t really interested in boys _or_ girls, and when I finally realized I was actually interested in _both_ I was just confused. It wasn’t until after I finished high school that I took my first tentative steps towards dating.”

“Of course, it was about then that _Butterfly Blues_ started to become popular. There you were, all hot and amazing and hella gay, and totally out of my league. I thought that if I hadn’t abandoned you, then that wouldn’t matter, but I had to accept that I’d blown my chance before I even knew I wanted one. After that, you were the yardstick I measured every date against, and they were all found wanting.”

I pulled back and looked at her. “Now, I wish I’d just plucked up the courage to call you, and maybe we could have shared our first kiss a long time ago.”

Chloe smiled ruefully. “Probably not, actually. I’m sure you’ve heard all the rumors about me and Rachel?”

“Yeah…” I decided not to mention all the Chloe/Rachel RPF I’d read on _AO3_. More than a little squicky under the circumstances; but dammit, I couldn’t help myself.

“For a long time I desperately wanted them to be true. I fell in love with her long before we started the band, but unfortunately for me, she’s a Kinsey zero. Being around her all the time made it pretty much impossible for me to put those feelings aside. Sure, I’ve had plenty of one-night stands, and more than a few brief flings, but for all my bitching about fangirls being no good for commitment, it’s only really in the last couple of months that I’ve finally gotten to the point where I’m over her enough that I could actually consider a serious, long-term relationship.”

I smiled. “Maybe leaving it to fate was the right thing to do after all. So, what now?”

“Well, normally this would be the point where I dragged you off to bed and had my wicked way with you…” I could see the merit in that. “…but under the circumstances, I think a go-slow plan is in order. You’re special, Max; I don’t want you to be just another notch in my bedpost, or to have another affair that’s over as quickly as it began.” She took my hand. “I’m more interested in doing this right than quick.” My heart melted, and I decided that I could happily wait for a more physical relationship.

“How’s about you take me to bed, but keep things strictly PG? I could go for a whole lot of serious kissing and cuddling.”

Chloe grinned, and pulled me towards the nearest bed. “Just as long as you don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation to uphold!”

* * *

The next morning came far too soon. We both had flights to catch, and I had no idea when we were going to see each other again. We clung desperately together for as long as we could, but eventually we couldn’t put off getting up any longer. We ended up having a mad dash getting packed and into the car.

After driving for a few minutes in silence, Chloe was the first to speak. “I wish we could have stayed for longer, but I have to head for LA to start doing tour prep.”

I sighed. “And I’ve got a few commissions that I can’t put off much longer, plus I’m photographing a wedding next weekend, so I do need to get back to Seattle.”

“Speaking of which, I’m going to be up in your neck of the woods in a couple of weeks’ time for some big charity bash. How would you like to be my date?”

“That sounds both awesome and terrifying.”

“I’m sure I can arrange to be up for the whole weekend, so if you just want to hang, there’ll be plenty of time for that.”

“No, no, I’d love to go. I could hardly deny you the opportunity to show me off!” That drew a laugh. “Mind you, I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything even remotely appropriate to wear.”

“Not a problem, I’m sure my people can sort something out for you.”

“You have ‘people’?”

“All part of the Rock Star lifestyle!”

All too soon we were at the airport, and as our flights left from different terminals we had to say our goodbyes before braving the TSA.

“Thank-you,” I told Chloe. “Thank-you for this fantastic holiday. Thank-you for breaking our stupid radio silence. Thank-you for what’s been, by far, the best week of my life.” I pulled her into a hug. “I love you so much, and I can’t wait to see you again.”

“I love you too, and I couldn’t bear to lose you a second time.”

“You won’t, I promise.”

She gave me a brief kiss, then vanished into the checkpoint.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Songs referenced in this chapter: Max sings _Sk8er Boi_ by Avril Lavigne (as covered by Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox featuring Annie Goodchild), Chloe sings _Pirates_ by Butterfly Blues (fictional, I’m afraid), and together they sing _Everything Has Changed_ by Taylor Swift featuring Ed Sheeran.


	4. In Clothes from Prada

A couple of weeks later, I was waiting nervously in my apartment for Chloe to arrive. I’d had a call a few days after I got home from one Victoria Chase, who billed herself as Chloe’s ‘fashion consultant’ – although she seemed to view that as something of a lost cause. She’d directed me to an exclusive boutique in a part of the city I’d never had cause to visit before, and now there was a dress hanging in my closet which was probably worth more than I made in a year.

The chime of the intercom shook me out of my reverie, and I eagerly buzzed Chloe through. A couple of minutes later, there was a knock at the door and I opened it to let her in. Somehow she managed to slam the door, dump her backpack and garment bag on the couch, and pull me into a kiss all in one smooth movement. After a few long moments, we separated. “I missed you too,” I said with a laugh. I ran a hand through her hair, happy to see it back to its usual shades of blue.

“Seriously, it felt more like two months than two weeks, plus I barely get to see you for a day.” We kissed again, then Chloe finally took a good look at my pitiful one-room abode; well, two rooms if you count the tiny en-suite. She smirked; “I see you weren’t making it up when you changed your verse at our karaoke night.” I realized that I’d completely forgotten to take down all the _Butterfly Blues_ posters that covered the walls.

“Yes, I’ve got it bad. Are you really complaining?”

She considered that for a moment. “I suppose not, as long as it’s me you’re perving on, and not Rachel – not that I could blame you for that. So, when do I get to see your dress? Victoria is evil and wouldn’t send me any pictures.”

“Evil seems a bit harsh…”

“Well, she used to be the Alpha Bitch of Blackwell Academy, queen of the mean girls, although I guess she has mellowed a little since then. I got to know her a little better in my senior year; we bonded over our mutual unrequited love for Rachel. Anyways, I don’t really dig her everyday style, but there’s no-one I trust more for this sort of event.”

“Fair enough. I guess you’ll get to see my dress when you help me put it on, because I don’t think I can manage to get into it by myself.”

“Ooh, does that mean I get to see you in your undies?” Chloe asked with a bit of a leer.

“Yes. My big, body-shaping, spectacularly unattractive undies.”

She shrugged. “It’s a start; and to be fair, mine are equally unglamorous.”

An hour or so later, with hair tamed and makeup applied, we helped each other squeeze into our dresses. Zips fastened, we stepped back to admire one another. I’d seen photos and videos of Chloe in similar outfits numerous times before, but seeing it in person still took my breath away. She, on the other hand, simply stood there with her jaw hanging open. I realized that it was entirely possible she’d never actually seen me in a dress before, let alone one which by some dark art actually made me look _sexy_.

“Holy wow,” she said at last. “I can’t decide whether I just want to stand and stare, or if I want to rip that thing right back off you.”

I blushed. “Seeing as our driver will be here in a few minutes, I think you’re going to have to restrain yourself!”

“Spoilsport! How are you so unruffled? Am I just not hot enough for you? I feel slightly insulted.”

“Oh, I’m thoroughly ruffled, but I’ve already had a couple of years of fangirling to get used to seeing you like this. Doesn’t mean I don’t think you look hotter than the sun.”

“Nice recovery!” said Chloe with a grin.

I gingerly stepped into the pair of high-heeled shoes that went with the dress. They were something I very rarely wore, so I’d taken the precaution of practicing walking in them all week. The last thing I needed was Chloe mocking me as I tottered around. She was wearing much more modest heels, so we were, for once, almost the same height.

“I can see the advantage of these,” I said, stepping closer and going in for a kiss… when the intercom chimed. “Saved by the bell!”

“Probably for the best, you would’a hella messed up our makeup!” she called as I hurried to answer it.

“Come on, our chariot awaits.”

* * *

When our limo pulled up at the end of the red carpet, the whole thing seemed unreal. “Not exactly a quiet little first date,” I muttered.

Chloe gave me a half-apologetic grin. “You’ll be fine. Just smile… and don’t forget to breathe.” The door opened, and she got out, greeted by a cheer from the crowd. I hesitated for a moment, then followed her. Conscious of the paparazzi, I exited the car very carefully, not wanting my underwear to make an appearance on some sleazy website. Thankfully the photographers were all focused on Chloe; a moment later, I was standing next to her.

She leaned over and whispered to me, “I need to go work the line; you can head straight in, and I’ll meet you there.” I actually ended up watching her interacting with the fans; signing photos and posing for selfies with a degree of patience that surprised me. She caught up with me by the doors. “Keeping an eye on me? Worried one of the fans might steal me away?”

I laughed. “No, I was just watching you be awesome. I’m not sure the Chloe I grew up with would have had time for that.”

“‘Never forget who pays your bills.’ The first thing our manager taught us. Be good to the fans, and they’ll be good to you. Dis’ ’em, and you can kiss your career goodbye.” Somebody held the door for us as we headed inside. Chloe immediately spotted someone she knew, and I realized that I recognized her too.

“Hey, Tay!”

“Hi, Chloe,” she glanced at me with a glimmer of recognition, “didn’t I see you two killing one of my songs on YouTube?”

“Um, sorry about that,” I muttered, mortified.

“This is my girlfriend, Max,” Chloe supplied.

“Good to meet you, and I meant killing in a good way. That may be my new favorite cover version.”

“Th-thank-you,” I stammered.

“So, where did you two meet?”

“At the diner in our home town…” Chloe began

“…when we were about five.” I finished. “But my family moved away years ago.”

“We hadn’t talked in nearly a decade when I finally got in touch a few weeks ago.” She grinned broadly, “the best decision I ever made!”

“That’s so sweet!” Taylor seemed genuinely happy for us. “Look, it was cool to see you guys, but I need to be backstage in five.”

“It was an honor to meet you,” I managed.

“Hey, it’s not like I’m the pres… er… Queen,” she replied with a laugh, quickly correcting herself.

“Now that gives me an idea,” said Chloe eagerly, “Swift/Sanders 2020 - get Bernie in through the back door, or better yet an all-girl ticket: Swift/Obama!”

“Leave me out of your politicking! Obama 2020, that I could get behind.” She left before Chloe had the chance to make a rejoinder.

“It’s not like a former First Lady running for President is without precedent,” I mused, “and I’ll take Michelle over Hillary any day of the week.”

“Whose side are you on?”

I just laughed. “Seriously, I think I just had one of the best moments of my entire life.”

Chloe looked a little hurt. “What, meeting Taylor Swift?”

“No, although that does come a close second. I meant you calling me your girlfriend.”

“Oh.” Her face lit up. “I guess I should do that more often.”

“I guess you should,” I replied, pulling her into a kiss.

The rest of the evening passed in a bit of a blur. I know that Chloe never left my side the entire night, and that she introduced me to everyone as her girlfriend. Of course, this meant that a bunch of famous people I’d never met before – including all four members of SEEK – knew I wasn’t straight before my own parents did. I realized that _there_ was a conversation I couldn’t really put off any longer.

I broached the subject as we were driving back to my apartment. “So, how would you feel about having lunch with my parents tomorrow?”

“Sounds good to me. I haven’t seen Ryan and Vanessa in years; it’d be good to catch up.” Then she saw my expression. “Oh, I have a bad feeling about this.”

“I haven’t actually come out to them yet,” I admitted in a rush.

“So… what? You don’t want to introduce me as your girlfriend?” I could see the hurt in her eyes.

“No! I mean yes, of course I do. It’s just, I’m not sure how they’ll react. I’ve been putting this off for so long because, hey, as long as my love life remained purely theoretical, there really wasn’t any pressing need to tell them. And now, suddenly, I have a reason, and I’m hella nervous about it.”

“Hey,” she said, putting an arm around me, “it’ll be fine. I remember your folks being pretty liberal.”

“I know, I know. I think at this point they’re going to be more upset about me taking so long to tell them than anything else. Yes, I’m a little bit scared, but I’ll be okay if I’ve got you there beside me.”

Chloe kissed me softly on the cheek. “Always.”

* * *

“Mom, Dad, we’re here,” I called as I opened the front door. A few seconds later my mother came bustling out of the kitchen. Her eyes widened in recognition.

“Chloe! It’s so good to see you again!” She went in for a hug, then hesitated. To my surprise, Chloe immediately moved to accept it.

“It’s good to see you too, Mrs. C.”

“Ryan had to pop out to the store,” Mom said as they separated, “because _somebody_ only let us know at the last minute that we’d be having an extra guest for lunch. It’s a first, so I was thinking that maybe our Max had finally found someone…”

I cut her off. “I have. Mom, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Chloe Price.” I took Chloe’s hand, then stood there nervously, waiting for a response.

Mom’s face was blank for a few seconds, then she smiled at us. “I’m so happy for you, both of you!”

I hugged her, relieved tears running down my face. “You’re okay with this?”

“The part where my daughter’s dating a girl, or the part where she’s dating a rock star?” she asked shrewdly. That got a laugh from Chloe, and Mom continued before I could respond. “I don’t have a problem with either. If the two of you are even half as devoted to each other as you were ten years ago, then I predict a long and happy future together. And if you’re happy, then so am I.” She held me at arms length and took on a more serious tone.

“Don’t think I’ve forgotten how devastated you were after we first moved here, or just how long it took you to get back to something resembling normal. Joyce told me that Chloe was much the same.” That earned her a pair of surprised looks. “Truth to tell, if I could go back and do things differently, we never would have left Arcadia Bay, but by the time we realized what we’d done to you two, it was too late. Quitting our new jobs, selling this place again, it would have bankrupted us.”

After a few moments, Chloe spoke for both of us. “Thanks, Mrs. C. It means a lot to hear you say that. And who’s to say how things would have turned out? If Max had never left, I probably would have never befriended Rachel and started the band. I might be spending my life washing dishes at the Two Whales!”

Mom laughed. “Maybe; who knows? Anyway, I need to get back to the kitchen or lunch may turn into something unpleasant.” Chloe and I followed her in there and cuddled up together on the ratty old sofa that’s about the only bit of furniture left in the house which made the trip up from Arcadia Bay. At first the three of us were chatting away together, but then Mom got to some particularly involved bit of the recipe, and we got a little bit involved in each other.

So, naturally, we were busy kissing when Dad got back. “Well,” he said, “it’s about time.” Immediately, we broke apart and turned to look at him. “Hi, Chloe, long time no see,” he continued, all casual-like.

“Hey, Mr. C,” Chloe replied laconically, not wanting to be out-done. “Good to see you.”

“Wait, what?” I said at last. “You’ve been expecting this?”

“‘Expecting’ would be a strong word, but I have visited your apartment, Max – or should I say your shrine to Chloe?” She sniggered; the two of them always used to gang up on me with good-natured teasing when we were kids, much like William and I had with Chloe. “I’m glad you two finally reconnected.”

“See?” said Chloe with a hint of smugness, “I told you that coming out to your parents wasn’t going to be a traumatic experience.”

“It helps that we were already pretty sure that you weren’t straight,” Dad dutifully pointed out. I extracted myself from Chloe’s embrace and got up to hug him. “Thanks, Daddy.”


	5. Staring Into the Crowd

After Chloe’s flying visit to Seattle, we only got to see each other once more before the _Butterfly Blues’_ tour started. She flew me down to LA for a long weekend while Rachel was out of town, giving her a few days off. We ended up spending most of that time in bed, having both decided we’d had just about enough of the go-slow plan.

As fate would have it, Seattle was the last date of their tour, so I spent the next few weeks finishing up all of my outstanding commissions and avoiding taking on any major new work. However big a gap Chloe had in her schedule after the tour, I wanted to be free to spend all of it with her.

I watched the show from a comfy seat in the VIP section, having turned down Chloe’s offer to secure a spot at the front of what she termed the ‘Mosh Pit’ – mostly because I was terrified that I’d just get crushed by the rest of her screaming fans. It was the fourth time that I’d seen them perform and, while I may be biased, I have to say that they’re one of the top live acts in the country.

After the encore, I headed round to the backstage door and nervously approached its burly guardian. He smiled at me, “come on through, Miss Caulfield; Chloe’s expecting you.” I guess she must have shown him a photo or something. I followed his directions though to the green room, where I found the band lounging around, drinking beers and smoking something that didn’t smell like tobacco.

Chloe immediately jumped up and pulled me into a big dramatic kiss, accompanied by cheers and wolf-whistles. “This is my girlfriend, Max,” she said, then introduced me to the members of the band. Finally, there was just one person left. “And I’m sure you recognize Rachel here.”

“It’s so good to finally meet you,” she said, pulling me into a hug. “I feel like I’ve already known you for years. Seriously, Chloe has not stopped talking about you since we first met.”

I smiled back. “Thanks for looking after her. I’m glad she had such a great friend after I abandoned her.” Chloe passed me a bottle, and we sat there, drinking, talking, and laughing. It didn’t take much persuasion for me to get Rachel telling stories about Chloe, giving me a peek into the parts of her life I’d missed, away from the cameras and microphones.

“Could you manage to find at least one story that isn’t embarrassing for me?” groused Chloe at last.

Rachel grinned. “Okay, fine.” She thought for a moment. “So, this was about nine months ago; it was after a show and we were working the line at the stage door. I heard a bit of a scuffle, so I turned around to look. I didn’t see anything at first, but then Chloe was talking to a couple of the security guys, getting one of them to move part of the barrier and let this scarily enthusiastic fan through.”

“Now, that’s something we pretty much _never_ do, because you can never be sure how they’re going to react. This one literally threw herself at Chloe, but Jeff grabbed her and dragged her off. At that point, I went over to see what the hell was going on. Meanwhile, Chloe was ignoring the crazy girl and going through the barrier with Brenda; when I followed them, I saw why: there was another girl behind the line, slumped against the wall and not moving.”

“I found out later that Chloe had seen the crazy girl literally throw her against the wall fighting to get to the front of the line. Things got a bit hectic after that; the cops and the ambulance showed up at pretty much the same time. It turned out that the unconscious girl seemed to be there alone, so Chloe insisted on going to the hospital with her. She was hopping mad that something like that had happened at one of our shows, and she wanted to make sure that the girl got the best possible care – and to pick up the tab for her medical bills.”

“Polly,” said Chloe, “her name is Polly. And I wasn’t just mad, I was scared – I’d seen the blood in her hair. Thankfully she woke up not long after we got to the hospital, and the docs were pretty sure she had nothing worse than a concussion. Still, she soon flaked out again, and they wanted to keep her in overnight for observation. I organized a private room so that I could stay with Polly – her parents were out of town, and I didn’t want her to be alone.”

“I’m not sure I got much sleep that night,” she said ruefully, “the guest chair wasn’t remotely comfortable – but it was all worth it when Polly woke up the next morning. Her eyes practically popped out of her head when she saw me there; she didn’t remember much of what happened after the concert. Thankfully, there were no lasting side-effects from the attack, but I ended up hanging out with Polly until her mom turned up to collect her late that afternoon. She’s a sweet kid and we really hit it off.”

“Should I be jealous?” I asked with a laugh.

“She was sixteen. I’m not a cradle-snatcher!”

“Well…” said Rachel, “what Chloe doesn’t know is that when I went to the hospital to check up on her, I got there a few minutes earlier than she thinks I did.” At that point, my girlfriend started to turn an interesting shade of pink. “Polly was talking about how her favorite pop star being openly gay had really helped her to figure out her own sexuality, and then she asked how Chloe first realized.”

“I told her,” said Chloe after a moment, “that I’d kissed a few boys and never understood what all the fuss was about, but the first time I kissed a girl… Whoa! And then, ever so shyly, she asked if I would kiss her.”

“And did you?” I asked.

“Oh, yeah,” said Rachel with a huge grin. “I mean, it might have started soft and gentle, but it was a pretty serious make-out session by the end. I was just about ready to go in and break it up by the time she was done.”

“Jeez, Rach, why did you never tell me?”

“Because I was waiting for this perfect opportunity; I guess I lied about it not being an embarrassing story after all.”

“Well, at least it was you rather than Polly’s mom,” conceded Chloe.

“Still, you’ve got to feel sorry for whoever gets to kiss her next; they’ve got one hell of an act to follow.” Seeing Chloe preening, Rachel clarified; “I mean, her first kiss was with her hero, who was also a big celebrity crush.”

“Trust me,” I said, leaping to my girlfriend’s defense, “Chloe’s kisses would be a hard act to follow under _any_ circumstances.” That earned me an immediate demonstration. After another quarter hour or so, pretty much everyone had left. Chloe headed to the bathroom, leaving me alone with Rachel. She turned to me, suddenly serious.

“This may be out of line, but I’m going to give you a friendly warning: don’t fuck this up. I’m the one who had to put Chloe back together after you left last time. If you give me cause to do that again, I _will_ make you regret it.”

I sighed. “Chloe’s lucky; she had you. After my parents tore me away from her, I didn’t have anyone. It took me years to pull myself together again; I sure as hell don’t have the strength left to do it a second time.” Rachel studied me for a moment, then her expression softened. “Fair enough. I’m sorry for going off at you like that.”

“No need to apologize. You’re just looking out for your best friend. I can’t blame you for that.”

“Chloe was really close to the edge when I first met her. She was so angry, lost, confused, and alone.” Rachel hesitated before continuing, “she would call me her angel, say that I saved her. She never explained what she meant by that, but I could guess. The first time she took me back to her place, I found a gun stashed in a drawer; she got a guilty look and muttered about how she should put it back before her step-douche found out.”

“Do you really think she was going to…?” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the question.

Rachel shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never dared to ask her outright, and every time I try the subtle approach, she simply avoids talking about it.”

“Maybe it’s best we just leave it in the past. Chloe certainly seems happy now.”

“She is,” replied Rachel, “especially now she has you back in her life. You’re able to give her something that I never could.” Again, she hesitated. “For the longest time, Chloe was in love with me. She never said anything, but I could tell. I wish there was something I could have done, but…” she trailed off.

“I know, she told me. It’s one of those unfortunate things that’s nobody’s fault. I’m pretty sure that Chloe never blamed you for it; your friendship wouldn’t have survived that. The way she talks about you… there’s no anger there, just love, in whatever form that takes now.”

“You’re not jealous?”

I shook my head. “There’s nothing to be jealous of. If something was going to happen between you two, it already would have. The way you both tell it, sounds like I have more reason to be jealous of that Polly girl than I do of you.”

Rachel averted her eyes for a moment. “Well, that’s not strictly true.” I quirked an eyebrow at her. “There may have been a couple of drunken make-outs early on in our friendship, when I could tell that she wanted to, and I was willing to find out if I was at least a little bit bi. I quickly realized that I’m not, and that carrying on was only going to hurt her.”

I shrugged. “Like I said, nothing I’m going to get jealous about. By the sounds of it, you saved her fucking life, Rachel.”

“It wasn’t just me. It was the music, too. Starting the band was this random idea we had after a night of smoking weed up by the lighthouse; it’s not like either of us had been particularly musically inclined before. Chloe really threw herself into it. Singing, and perhaps even more so songwriting really gave her an outlet for all that rage and loss that had built up inside her. If it wasn’t for that… I worry that she might have carried on spiraling down.”

“Whether it’s directly or indirectly, I still have you to think for Chloe being who she is now, and that’s not a debt I’m ever going to be able to repay.”

“I like you,” Rachel decided, “which is a good thing, seeing as we’re probably never going to be able to get away from each other.”

“I’m pretty sure Chloe will see to that, and I’m really glad that I got to meet you. Speaking of which, she’s never actually told me how you two first met.”

Rachel laughed. “It was very _Breakfast Club_. My first week at Blackwell, I managed to land myself in detention. Chloe was sat in a corner at the back, looking all ‘I hate the world.’ Under any other circumstances, I would probably have ignored her, but there was nobody else to talk to, and just sitting there quietly for a few hours would be my idea of hell. She tried to ignore me at first, but I can be hella persistent. Eventually, for whatever reason, she decided to open up to me about… everything. It was one of those conversations where you can’t help but end up friends afterwards.”

“Like this one?” I asked, hopefully.

“Yeah,” said Rachel with a smile, “exactly like this one.”

Chloe bounced back into the room. “Ready to go, Maximus?” I nodded, and she turned to Rachel, pulling her into a hug. “Have a good break, Rach. I’m sure the boss will have more work for us soon.”

“Go,” she said, shooing us off. “Have fun.” A big, over-dramatic wink left no doubt as to exactly what she meant. After running the gauntlet of die-hard fans who were still waiting outside, we spent the cab ride home in happy silence. Again, Chloe had chosen to stay at my place rather than putting us up in some swanky hotel suite with room service and a bigger bed. That would’ve been nice, I thought, but it made me feel pretty damn good that she wanted to stay in my home.

When we got inside, I closed the door and turned to Chloe nervously. “So… what now?”

“Now we decide what we want to do with the rest of our lives. I’d love for you to come back to LA with me, accompany me to all the glitzy events I have to go to, join us on the next tour… but I can’t ask you to give up your life, your career, to move away from your family.”

“Actually, that sounds great. I don’t have much of life here, and my so-called career is just a convenient way of supporting my real passion – taking the photos _I_ want to take. I can take pictures in LA just as well as I can here, and if I go on tour with you, that means even more new locations. Yeah, it’s nice being able to see Mom and Dad whenever I want, but I’ll probably appreciate them more if I only visit a few times a year.”

“You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.” I smiled. “It sounds like hella fun. Mostly, though, I just want to be wherever you are.”

She actually wiped a tear away. “Okay, so, back to LA. I’ll sing songs, you take photos, and we’ll figure out the rest as we go.”

“Sounds perfect.”

“Great,” said Chloe, propelling me towards the bed, “then there’s no more need for talk.”

“Aye, aye, Cap’n,” I replied, pulling her down after me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Series Notes: I’m sure it comes as no surprise that this fic took it’s inspiration from the song title. As for how Chloe and Rachel ended up as rock stars… I have no idea. This was one of the first stories in this anthology I started, and very much grew by bits and pieces along the way.


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